Project Update August 10, 2023
(News release issued August 10, 2023)
Another significant step in the creation of a Modular Bridge Housing community with 50 individual units on Wolfe Street in Peterborough for people experiencing homelessness started yesterday with details about the new small housing units shared with potential residents.
Outreach workers showed pictures of the individual units, the layout of the community that will soon begin to take shape, and talked with people experiencing homelessness about how the housing community would operate.
Construction is expected to start in September 2023.
Many of the individual units, which are being built off site then delivered to the property, are ready to be moved to the site once the site is prepared with each unit having electricity along with a heating and cooling system.
Working with community partner agencies, the City will offer accommodation in the Modular Bridge Housing community to 50 individuals who are currently experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
Outreach workers regularly speak with people who are experiencing homelessness to help connect them with available services.
Over the next several weeks, through conversations to identify how support services at the Modular Bridge Housing project will align with each individual’s specific needs, the City will provide offers of accommodation for the new units.
Occupancy is expected to start this fall.
The units are called Modular Bridge Housing since the goal is that the units, the homes, will be a bridge to move people into more permanent housing.
Council approved a comprehensive homelessness strategy in May 2023. Part of the strategy includes:
- The 50-unit Modular Bridge Housing project
- Opening a new winter overnight drop-in centre
- Creating a service hub to support the Modular Bridge Housing community
Details are being finalized on the location of the winter overnight drop-in centre that will be open for six months each year and a year-round daytime meal program that will replace the current One Roof community meal program and drop-in centre. An announcement is expected shortly.
Once the new overnight drop-in centre opens and the Modular Bridge Housing project is ready, the Wolfe Street building will be converted from its current overflow shelter program into a service hub to support the Modular Bridge Housing community.
Project information, frequently asked questions, and an option to subscribe to receive updates on the project are available on the City’s community engagement hub at ConnectPtbo.ca/modular-bridge-housing.
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